The Scout Report - January 3, 2000

January 3, 2000

A Publication of the Internet Scout Project
Computer Sciences Department, University of Wisconsin-Madison

The Scout Report is a weekly publication offering a selection of new and newly discovered Internet resources of interest to researchers and educators. However, everyone is welcome to subscribe to one of the mailing lists (plain text or HTML). Subscription instructions are included at the end of each report.

CRISP: Computer Retrieval of Information on Scientific Projects [JavaScript]https://www-commons.cit.nih.gov/crisp/
CRISP is a pair of large searchable databases of federally funded biomedical research projects conducted at universities, hospitals, and other institutions. Visitors to the CRISP site can gather information on a wide variety of projects, research grants, cooperative agreements, and other projects funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and other government agencies. The site hosts two databases, one containing current awards and the other historical awards. Both can be searched by keyword with a number of modifiers. Returns include grant number, PI name and title, project title, an abstract, institution, and dates. An overview and FAQ are provided. CRISP is updated weekly. [MD][Back to Contents]

National Bureau of Asian Research (NBR) [.pdf]http://www.nbr.org/
Located in Seattle, WA, the NBR is "a nonprofit, nonpartisan institution that conducts advanced research on policy-relevant issues in Asia." At the site, students and researchers will find a number of useful resources. Most of these are featured in AccessAsia, a clearinghouse on contemporary Asian affairs and policy-related issues. Researchers and graduate students will be especially interested in the AccessAsia's searchable database of Asia specialists. Search results include contact information, expertise, languages, publications, and current projects. The site also offers a fair number of selected full-text publications, including analytical essays, reviews of current research, policy papers, and the NBR Bulletin. Other resources include links to related research organizations, news sites, and electronic publications; conference notices; and information on the NBR staff and activities. [MD][Back to Contents]

Sea Slug Forumhttp://www.austmus.gov.au/seaslugs/
Produced by the Australian Museum and maintained by Dr. Bill Rudman, the recently redesigned Sea Slug Forum is an excellent resource for information on nudibranchs and related sea slugs such as bubble-shells, sea hares, and side-gilled slugs. One of the chief features of the site is a lengthy species list that links to lovely photos, brief descriptions, distribution information, and related messages from the site's Forum. The site also offers a sizable collection of short pieces and archived forum messages on a variety of general topics, arranged alphabetically. Users can send their own questions and review messages sent to the site along with Dr. Rudman's replies by date or via a keyword search engine. Additional resources include suggested reading, related annotated links, and information on forum participants. [MD][Back to Contents]

xlation.com: Resources for Translation Professionalshttp://www.xlation.com/
Looking for a glossary of cigar terms, a Danish-Japanese dictionary, or a collection of Cree language lessons? xlation.com is the place to go. Hosting an impressive and actively maintained collection of tools for translation professionals, xlation.com is the work of Robert Altenburg and Dyran Maldonado. The site's features are too numerous to give an exhaustive list here. In the Dictionaries, Glossaries and Word Lists, and Grammar and Idioms sections, users will find links to a range of off-site reference materials. Currently, xlation.com features approximately 1,600 glossaries and more than 60 online grammars. Other sections of the site -- Jobs and Forums, Calendar of Events, and Essays -- focus on information about translation itself, professional opportunities, and related issues. xlation also links to resources on Computer Assisted and Machine Translation, Mailing Lists, and more. As an added bonus, the front page offers a quote, site, and piece of trivia for each day. [TK][Back to Contents]

National Gallery of Art (NGA) Past Exhibitionshttp://www.nga.gov/past/pastexhibits.htm
Representing over a decade of work by the NGA Archive staff, this site offers a narrative summary and key facts for each of the more than 750 special exhibitions held at the Gallery from 1941 through 1997. Users can search the list by keyword or browse by year. Returns include exhibition title, dates, an overview, attendance, location, catalog and/or brochure, and other venues. The list will be updated annually. [MD][Back to Contents]

New Additions to ERIC Digests Databasehttp://www.ed.gov/databases/ERIC_Digests/index/edo99d.html
ERIC Digests Index Pagehttp://www.ed.gov/databases/ERIC_Digests/index/
The latest update to the ERIC (Educational Resources Information Center) Digest database (last described in the September 17, 1999 Scout Report) features 40 full-text, short reports aimed at education professionals and the broader education community. Each report includes an overview of an education topic of current interest and offers references for further information. Sample titles include "Using the World Wide Web with Adult ESL Learners," "Information Literacy," "Peer Review of Teachers," and "Interdisciplinary Courses and Curricula in the Community Colleges." Users can search the entire ERIC Digests database from the index page. ERIC, part of the National Library of Education (NLE), is a nationwide education information system sponsored by the US Department of Education's Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI). [MD][Back to Contents]

Cora: Computer Science Research Paper Search Engine [.ps]http://www.cora.justresearch.com/
Created by Just Research, an applied research lab in Pittsburgh, PA, this site will find ready use among computer science students and professionals. Using Cora, visitors can conduct keyword searches over the partial text of some 50,000 Postscript-formatted computer science research papers. Alternatively, users can browse top-ranking papers organized under a number of topics and sub-categories. Search returns include title, author, institution, and abstract, with a link to a Postscript version, the referring page, a detailed entry (including references), and a BibTeX entry. Category entries, the entries users access when browsing, include title, author, reference count, and a link to the detailed entry. Although the site has not been recently updated (it was last modified in August), the sheer number of papers indexed make it a valuable resource. [MD][Back to Contents]

Meeting of Frontiers -- LOChttp://frontiers.loc.gov/intldl/mtfhtml/mfsplash.html
Recently announced by the Library of Congress (LOC), this bilingual (Russian and English) site explores "the American exploration and settlement of the West, the parallel exploration and settlement of Siberia and the Russian Far East, and the meeting of the Russian-American frontier in Alaska and the Pacific Northwest." Comprising some 70,000 images from the Library's rare book, manuscript, map, prints and photograph, film, and sound recording collections, the site tells the stories of the individuals and groups that moved to these frontiers and interacted with the native peoples of Siberia and the American West. Users can browse the collection thematically, via the America, Russia, and the Meeting of Frontiers section, or access the primary materials directly in the Digital Collections section. All pages are offered in both English and Russian and, in addition to the large number of primary sources, offer related links and suggestions for further reading. An internal search engine and site map are also provided. This pilot project will be expanded in the future with materials from the LOC and Russian partner institutions. [MD][Back to Contents]

Canada Heirloom Serieshttp://collections.ic.gc.ca/heirloom_series/index.htm
Canada's Digital Collectionshttp://collections.ic.gc.ca/
The Canada Heirloom Series is part of Canada's Digital Collections (CDC) program, a massive digitization project undertaken by the Canadian government and Industry Canada. CDC utilizes technical support from the government's Youth Employment Strategy (YES), a program that puts young people to work creating Websites featuring Canadian cultural heritage material from institutions such as the National Archives of Canada, the National Library of Canada, and the Canadian Museum of Civilization. The Heirloom Series consists of six volumes that present Canadian history and geography, and biographies of Canadians. Volumes one through six are Canada: From Sea to Shining Sea, Canada's Native Peoples, Allegiance: the Ontario Story, Visionaries: Canadian Triumphs, Wayfarers: Canadian Achievers, and Pathfinders: Canadian Tributes. All volumes include a framing introduction, content-filled chapters, and lavish illustrations including prints, photographs, and paintings. One small warning: in biographical sections, clicking on a face does not take you to information about the person shown, but rather to the beginning of an alphabetical list of biographies. This minor caveat aside, the Series provides a great starting place for the study of Canadian history. [DS][Back to Contents]

Conversations With History [RealPlayer]http://globetrotter.berkeley.edu/conversations/
Created in 1982 by Harry Kreisler and produced by the Institute of International Studies at the University of California at Berkeley, Conversations With History has featured interviews with over 150 distinguished men and women from all over the world. Users can now read, and in many cases view, a large selection of these interviews online. The interviews can be browsed by year, guest name, profession, or topic. In addition to RealPlayer video segments, many interview pages also include photos and relevant links. The guests and topics span the world and engage an excellent variety of pressing and important issues. Whether for classroom use or personal edification, this site is highly recommended. [MD][Back to Contents]

Digital Divide -- PBShttp://www.pbs.org/digitaldivide/
PBS viewers can preview this upcoming two-part series through the accompanying Website of the same name. The Digital Divide examines the digital revolution and how the spread of computer technology is affecting young people in the United States. The Website is arranged into four main sections: Classrooms, Gender, Race, and At Work. In each section, there is an interactive lesson on the issue (Interact), interviews with experts (Voices), and list of annotated Internet resources on the issue (Links). The first part of the Digital Divide will air nationally on PBS stations on January 28, 2000. A note to users: as the site uses a dark background with colored text, some text, including URLs listed in white, will not print from some browsers without making necessary adjustments to settings or preferences. [AG][Back to Contents]

Make the Dirt Fly! A Smithsonian Institution Libraries Exhibitionhttp://www.sil.si.edu/Exhibitions/Make-the-Dirt-Fly/index.html
This overview of the creation of the Panama Canal is a great online version of an exhibition at the Smithsonian Institution libraries. Historic pictures and well written text lead the user through the history of the venture. Topical sections supply information about who the major players were and how the difficult terrain and climate affected both the people and machines involved in this lengthy engineering project. The site includes a suggested reading list as well as a bulleted "did you know" section with astounding facts such as: "the project consumed as much as twelve million pounds of dynamite per year." [REB][Back to Contents]

100 or so Books that shaped a Century of Science -- American Scientisthttp://www.amsci.org/amsci/bookshelf/century.html
Presented by American Scientist and compiled by Philip and Phylis Morrison, this site lists approximately 100 books that readers, reviewers, and editorial staff at the magazine felt were "memorable and influential English-language books" in twentieth-century science. The books are organized in nine sections, each of which is prefaced by a short introduction. Categories include Field Guides, the Physical Sciences, History of Science, and the Evolution of Life, among others. Author, title, and date of publication are provided. [MD][Back to Contents]

WebCopierhttp://home.columbus.rr.com/mklimov/
WebCopier is a Windows-based, offline browser utility. Websites may be scheduled for download according to options which include link depth, file type, and server. Following download, the site is accessible through a tree structure which has the added benefit of showing a unified view of the entire site. In addition to HTML, Javascript is also parsed giving offline access to sites referenced only from Javascript. WebCopier is free and is compatible with Windows 95, 98, NT, or 2000. [JB][Back to Contents]

The Decade in Computing -- CNEThttp://www.cnet.com/specialreports/0-6014-7-1494819.html?tag=st.cn.1.tlpg.6014-7-1494819
This special report from CNET examines the people, products, trends, and companies that shaped computing over the past decade. The report is composed of four sections, which examine these subjects in turn. Within each section, users will find a short introduction and profiles for each of what CNET believes are the ten most important individuals, products, ideas, or companies. Related links are offered throughout the site. [MD][Back to Contents]

Y2AOK
President's Council on Year 2000 Conversionhttp://www.y2k.gov/default.htm
Government Millennium Centrehttp://www.millennium-centre.gov.uk/
Country-Specific Y2K Information -- US State Departmenthttp://travel.state.gov/y2kca.html
"Monday a major Y2K test as U.S. returns to work" -- CNN [RealPlayer]http://www.cnn.com/2000/TECH/computing/01/03/y2k.reports.roundup.03/index.html
The Year 2000 Problem -- The New York Timeshttp://www10.nytimes.com/library/tech/reference/millennium-index.html
The Year 2000 rollover, it appears after all, will be rather smooth. Despite fears of widespread computer shutdowns or malfunctions or millennium-related terrorism in Israel or elsewhere, the year 2000 arrived amid tremendous fanfare, but few technical difficulties. While some minor problems popped up in various spots around the globe, Y2K seems to have arrived with fewer computer problems than even the most sanguine analysts predicted. The acid test, of course, is the next few days, as computer networks that were shut down or quiet for the holiday weekend get a full workout. Initial indications are positive, as stock markets in Asia and Europe successfully opened up and experienced brisk trading. While officials and analysts warn that the danger for serious problems has not passed entirely, most admit that the risk is very low at this point. More likely is a series of small glitches and nuisances that will be worked out over the coming weeks and months.

The US and UK government agencies charged with managing and tracking the Y2K rollover both offer recent bulletins on the domestic and international situation. Though they don't make for very exciting reading given the ease of the transition, the US State Department has posted country-specific updates from its consular offices and embassies around the world. Related links for each country and Y2K in general are also offered. CNN has published a concise analysis of the situation as it stands today, with numerous related links. Finally, for a retrospective of reporting on Y2K, users can visit the New York Times' (free registration required) collection of articles, dating from today back to January 1999. [MD][Back to Contents]

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Copyright Susan Calcari and the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents, 1994-2000. The Internet Scout Project (http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/), located in the Computer Sciences Department of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, provides information about the Internet to the U.S. research and education community under a grant from the National Science Foundation, number NCR-9712163. The Government has certain rights in this material. Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of the entire Scout Report provided this paragraph, including the copyright notice, are preserved on all copies.

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The Scout Report (ISSN 1092-3861) is published weekly by Internet Scout